I first heard (and wrote) about inCulto in the context of their song “Welcome (to Lithuania),” which was a candidate song to represent Lithuania at Eurovision in 2006. The song lost at the end to LT United’s “We Are the Winners,” which made lots of people on the west side of the Atlantic rather sad. At the time, I argued that while inCulto’s entry might have been a better song qua song, it wasn’t as good an entry for Eurovision, where songs are supposed to have universal appeal, catering to a fantasy of a Europe much larger than the EU, united by song.

So I’m happy that inCulto’s second attempt, the broader appeal song “Eastern European Funk,” was selected last night to represent Lithuania at Eurovision. It’s an infectious song, and it might even match or beat LT United’s best-ever ranking in 2006. (I know I will be voting for it from France.) In the two clips I provide below, one can hear the song as performed live and see an element of the choregraphy that inCulto was to use in their performance. For those expecting a more lavishly produced song with thicker instrumentation, don’t forget the Eurovision format, which encourages interesting choreography and band interaction (the event, after all, is televised!).